Review: “Express Yourself Clearly” by E.Y.C (CD, 1994)

Today’s POP RESCUE from a fate unknown, is the 1994 debut album Express Yourself Clearly by American R&B trio, E.Y.C. Will this album be your Number One, or will it leave you Feelin’ grotty? Read on…

E.Y.C - Express Yourself Clearly (1994) album — E.Y.C – Express Yourself Clearly (1994) album

This 11 track CD bursts opens with lead single Feelin’ Alright, which is absolutely laden with beats, testosterone shouting vocals, and a ton of samples. It reminds me mostly of hip hop duo Kris Kross who’d had a huge hit in 1992 with Jump, and at times there are vocal nods to Michael Jackson, but this is an energetic start to the album. The track gave the group a moderate hit despite this catchiness, reaching #16 in the UK singles chart.

The lights are down and it’s already time to get all sexy and Nice And Slow. The tempo is down, and the creaky vocals. “I wanna rub you nice and slow” they guys sing before one of them qualifies it “with oil – lots of oil” – phew, thank goodness this lust-laden track isn’t a song about wanking. The track has a nice tempo, and when singing, the vocals are really rich – but the breathy sexy talk gets a bit cheesy and at times it sounds like Shaggy in his hit Mr Boombastic. The track does have a false bottom before heading off to the next song.

Third single Black Book is up next, and this gives us a much more up-beat and tuneful sound. Here, the guys work really quite well together, and in doing so it earned the track a #13 spot in the UK.

Next is Remembering You Girl which gives us a heartfelt reflective song. At times, I’m reminded of a kind of East 17 and Michael Jackson hybrid in the vocal delivery. The vocals stand out here as strong, confident, and they sound great in the harmonies too. It’s quite a nice gentle song, leaving the interest points to the vocals.

Finger clicks usher us in to One More Chance, and this is a nice hearfelt slow number. The sleeve notes explain that this song is ‘in memory of Tony Le Mans’ – one of the song’s co-writers. This track really allows the guys to shine with rich and warm vocal harmonies without the bursting beats. A lovely track, and it acted as the fifth and final single from the album, taking them to #25.

Next up is shortest track, second single, and second biggest hit – the one that they’re probably best known for – The Way You Work It. The beat is light, flanked by some timid synths, but this allows the rapid lyrics to remain the focus throughout. It’s definitely a foot-tapper, echoing some more Jackson sounds. The track took them to #14 in the UK.

We’re back in loved-up ballad territory now in Baby Don’t You Know – with gentle plodding beats and whispering-all-sexy breathy vocals throughout. Occasional keyboard stabs add a taste of drama between sections, but it’s a fairly simple track, again allowing the vocals to take the focus.

Number One follows this, and it brings with it a ton of drums and bass-y synth sounds that give it a nice catchiness and urgency. The guys seem to throw their vocals over the top with great ease, giving it plenty of energetic big notes, and vocal samples. Despite this edginess and it being probably the best track so far (as I write this in 2024), as the album’s third single, it was also their worst performing single in the UK for this album.

We’re back to heartfelt mid-tempo territory with next song You Are My Happiness, and whilst we’re given some great soaring vocals and lovely solos and harmonies, it does seem to drip with teenage bedroom lustfulness. It does grow on you though.

Swing My Way (Demo) is next, and this is a curious track with the artwork attributing vocals to a Marlen Landin – and unfortunately this doesn’t really add much to the song. The track seems to be a bit all over the place with the vocal melody, and there’s plenty of moments that just feel like they’re part of a demo recording, it’s unclear why a ‘Demo’ makes it on to this CD.

The album closes with Get Some, which despite opening with ‘Express Yourself Clearly’ shouted at the start, the title doesn’t express that this song features Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. who have the shouty rap sections covered perfectly. Apparently this was the group’s debut song in the US, but here it is consigned to the footnotes of the album. I find it reminiscent of K7’s 1993 hit Come Baby Come and House Of Pain’s 1992 hit Jump Around. The track seems to just descend into a messy fade.

E.Y.C’s lead single Feelin’ Alright.

Verdict

Over all, this is an album that cannot decide whether it is a rap or boy band ballad album.

EYC had moderate success here in the UK, never managing to break into the Top 10 singles chart. That said, their energy and enthusiasm is evident throughout the upbeat tracks of this album, giving us some great early 1990’s style.

Most of the singles are what shine here, with The Way You Work It, Black Book, Number One, and Feelin’ Alright leading the way. The rest of the tracks are mostly ‘that’s nice, lads’ moments.

They were either caged birds, or just lacking that little bit of oomph to deliver them to success in the UK, and I think maybe it’s the ironic (given their name) careful musical compromise that they appear to have taken with their choice of an ‘okay’ take on two genres that ultimately didn’t give them the success.